By Mark Vester
At the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, unbeaten welterweight Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23KOs) won a ten round decision over tough Richard Gutierrez (24-4, 14KOs).
The scores were 98-90, 97-91 and 97-91 for Abregu.
In a very active first round, Abregu was sharper and more accurate with his punches. In the second, Gutierrez caught Abregu with an inside shot that sent him down. He got up on shaky legs and used the ring to move around the ring to shake off the damage. Gutierrez tried going after him with combinations. Abregu kept his guard up and tried to counter once his head cleared up.
In the third, Abregu landed a hard combination of punches that sent Gutierrez down hard. Abregu went after him and tried to finish him off but Gutierrez was firing back with his own punches. It was a war against the ropes. Abregu landing better with punches to the head and body. In the fourth, they traded hard hooks. Gutierrez was getting caught with a lot of punches when he walked inside. In the final ten seconds a left hook shook Gutierrez up.
The fifth saw Gutierrez take a lot of punches while Abregu kept his distance. A big combination by Abregu at the end of the round. In the sixth the action slowed down. Gutierrez began to get better punches in. During the seventh round a cut opened up around the left eye of Abregu. Gutierrez continued to land some better punches. Abregu landing hard counters. In the eight, Abregu was moving and landing quick combos to outbox Gutierrez.
Abregu appeared to coast in the ninth round. Gutierrez chased after him. He couldn't land much as Abregu was on the move boxing. Gutierrez knew he was behind in the tenth round, he was going for broke with wild power punch swings. Abregu stayed away and used the entire ring to move away from the shots.
